Some fruits and vegetables are easy to buy. With a quick glance and two-second touch, you know they’re good to go: firm apples, fresh-looking lettuce and hard, bright orange carrots, to name a few.

Other produce is tricky to pick out. Is that mango or papaya ripe? Is this pineapple sweet, juicy and ready to eat? What’s the best way to pick out a perfect garlic bulb, eggplant or artichoke?

We asked three produce experts to advise us about how to pick out tricky produce. It turns out that fruits are harder to figure out than vegetables.

Jesse Kamphuis, the produce team leader at Whole Foods Market in Bend, told us that pineapple tops his list of produce that’s most difficult to choose, and shared tips for finding a winner.

Kamphuis told us he always hopes shoppers won’t be shy about asking questions about any items; he and his staff are eager to help.

“That’s what we’re here for, to let you know which varieties are good. We love educating our guests about what’s good, how to pick it, and we want to give them a sample,” Kamphuis said.

Michael Peters, the produce assistant manager at Newport Avenue Market in Bend, told us he gets the most questions about avocados and mangos. Peters shared his tips for both, along with a clever way to open a pomegranate without getting red juice stains everywhere.

We also checked in with Aliza (A-LEE-zuh) Green, a Philadelphia-based chef and the author of many award-winning cookbooks, including the helpful “Field Guide to Produce: How to Identify, Select, and Prepare Virtually Every Fruit and Vegetable at the Market” (Quirk Books, 2004). It’s just the right size (41⁄2 by 6 inches) to fit in a purse or reusable grocery bag, so it can go to the store with you for handy reference.

Green shared her vast knowledge about produce, including how to pick out a great kiwifruit or mango.

So let’s explore the tricky fruits and vegetables and learn a few tricks of the trade from the pros.

Artichoke

Look for tightly packed leaves, without splitting, which indicates they’re getting old.

Some artichokes are labeled “frost kissed” at this time of year, which causes their leaves to brown and flake. “They don’t look all that attractive, but they eat very well. Once they’re cooked, all that disappears, and they have great flavor,” Peters said.

“Many consider artichokes to be the tenderest and most intensely flavored after a frost,” Green writes in her “Field Guide to Produce.”

Asparagus

Pick by tight buds, whether you go for skinny or fat varieties.

“I’ve been educated that a wider stalk is a younger and more tender stalk. A lot of people prefer the skinny asparagus. You don’t have to peel the stalk, but you do want to break the tough bottom part off. Cut it off, or do the bending trick. When you bend a stalk, it’ll break off where the woodiness starts,” said Kamphuis.

Avocado

Pick by touch and color. “You’ve got to use a delicate touch to test an avocado. Push very gently, close to the stem. For a ripe one, you want it to feel semi-soft, and you don’t want to feel air pockets.

“A ripe Hass avocado will have dark, matte purple-black skin,” Green writes.

Cantaloupe

Test for ripeness. “I push down with my thumbs on the opposite of the stem side to see if I can feel some softness, and I sniff on the stem end for some aroma,” said Peters. “Don’t shake it. That won’t tell you anything,” he said.

“In a ripe cantaloupe, the stem end will be very fragrant,” said Kamphuis.

“Check the stem end of a cantaloupe for a clean, smooth indentation known as a ‘full slip.’ If the edge is jagged, the cantaloupe was picked before maturity. Choose cantaloupes that are heavy for their size, with a fruity aroma and thick, well-raised netting over straw-colored rind,” writes Green.

Coconut

Pick a good one by shaking it vigorously. “You want to hear the water inside. If it dries out, that’s bad. Check all around and make sure there’s been no openings or cracks in it,” said Peters.

Eggplant

Pick by color and feel. “It should be consistently firm, purple all around, with no brown spots or soft spots,” said Peters. “It’s one of the most perishable vegetables. It gets bitter and leathery and shriveled quickly with brown spots on the skin. As soon as that happens, it’s already getting that bitter taste. Try to cook it within a day of purchase. If I’m not using it right away, I dice it and roast it,” Green told us in a phone interview.

Garlic

Pick by feel. “It’s got to be hard. If it’s shriveled and papery or dry on the outside, it’s older, and as the garlic shrinks, it comes away from the skin. Really good, fresh garlic is pearly and juicy inside. If it’s green inside, that’s the shoot, and it’s bitter. It’s sprouting and starting a new plant. Maybe it was in a warm, moist environment that was encouraging sprouting,” Green said.

“Check the tips of the garlic. You can generally see if it’s sprouting. The garlic bulb should be tight and firm and kind of heavy for its size. You want it to feel solid,” Kamphuis said.

Green beans

Pick by color, shape, feel. “Select beans that are clean, tender, crisp, well-shaped and smooth,” Green writes.

“You want a green bean to be firm; you want it to snap pretty easily. I love for guests to snap them while they’re shopping, and taste one, too,” Kamphuis said.

Kiwifruit

Pick it by feel. “It should not be mushy. Kiwifruit can get overripe and mushy, like blueberries. A kiwi doesn’t have a lot of flavor, but the color and texture are really pleasing, and a fresh one needs to have that little bit of acidity to make it interesting. It should be firm, but you don’t want it hard as a rock,” Green said.

Mango

Look for skin color and feel. “Remember that fruit, in general, will have shiny, taut skin when it’s unripe and hard. As it ripens, the skin will get more dull or matte looking and a little looser. Look for that with a mango, and when you can easily detach the end of the stem from the fruit, that’s a good sign of ripeness,” Green said.

“Most mangos are hard when you buy them and must be fully ripened before eating. Leave at cool room temperature until the flesh is yielding, but not mushy,” Green writes in her “Field Guide to Produce.”

“I like to see a little blush color to them,” Peters said.

Papaya

Pick it by color and feel, not smell. “A ripe papaya will be a little softer than a mango or an avocado. You want a nice golden yellow color. Use a gentle touch; you want a consistent softness,” Peters said.

“Avoid hard or shriveled papayas or fruit that is overly soft or has a fermented aroma,” Green writes.

Pear

Pick by feel. “Press gently with thumbs by the stem, you just want a little give by the stem. If it’s soft all over, it’s overripe. With pears, you want that firmness,” Peters said.

“Pears are tricky because they ripen from the inside out. Other fruit like peaches, apricots and nectarines all ripen from the outside,” he added.

Pineapple

Pick by fragrance and color. Our experts said that the trick of pulling out a leaf to test for ripeness isn’t foolproof (if it comes out easily, the pineapple is supposed to be ready to eat).

“My first indication of ripeness is that sweet smell. Turn it around; it should be turning golden, but should still have some green,” Peters said.

“Turn it upside down and sniff its rear end. There must be another way of putting it,” Green said with a laugh. “You should be able to come into the room where the pineapple is, and the whole room smells like pineapple,” Green said.

Whole Foods carries its own brand of Whole Trade organic pineapples from Costa Rica. Kamphuis told us they don’t necessarily have a strong, sweet aroma, nor do they turn all yellow when they’re ripe. “They’ll yellow a little bit from the bottom up, so I look for a little of that golden hue,” Kamphuis said.

Pomegranate

Pick by color and firmness. “I like to see them deep red, solid all around, not concaving. A great way to open them up is to do it under running water in a colander, or in a bowl of water. Score it, break it open, and take apart the membranes. The pomegranate seeds will fall into the water or colander. No mess, no stains,” Peters said.

Starfruit or carambola

Pick by color. “Starfruit come in green, then when they get golden in color, that’s the time to use them. The broader the ribs, the sweeter the fruit. You can buy them green and ripen them at room temperature. They can be refrigerated for up to one week,” Peters said.

Tomatillo

Pick by touch and look. “You want the papery husk of the tomatillo to be intact, not browning. It’ll be kind of dry, but as long as the color of the tomatillo is a pretty bright green and feels firm, it’s ready to use. Don’t wait for them to soften,” Kamphuis said.

Watermelon

Pick by feel and sound. “Watermelons are different from cantaloupe and honeydew melons. You want them firm, and you want to pound for that ‘thrump’ sound. I choose a ripe one by firmness and hearing. I’ll pick up a few and am happy to show you how you can hear the difference. It’s an acquired sound,” Peters said.

Not happy? Take it back

Both of our local produce experts said that if you get a fresh fruit or vegetable home and it doesn’t taste good, or is disappointing in any way, don’t hesitate to bring it back, or just bring in the receipt the next time you’re in the store.

“Tell me, and we’ll replace it,” said Michael Peters, the produce assistant manager at Newport Avenue Market in Bend.

“You’re 100 percent satisfaction guaranteed,” said Jesse Kamphuis, the produce team leader at Whole Foods Market in Bend.

The same policy is true in the vast majority of grocery stores.